Lawyer for the purchase of a house - Page 2

Kim007 wrote on Mon May 23, 2022 11:58am:

Hi Perla

Some lawyers (and estate agents) are not open, honest, truthful or transparent; good to hear you have stopped paying them. 
Sorry, I am not a legal expert in Spanish property laws.
Try contacting the Citizens Advice Bureau in Spain.  Read more...

...zensadvice.org.es/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CAB Spain (citizensadvice.org.es)
Email address [email protected]

To have your specific questions answered by a team of legal experts I believe they ask you to pay a donation or small fee, but please check their terms and conditions and fees. 

Do a Google search and contact the Spanish Ministry of Justice; telephoning them is very helpful.  

On YouTube you can sometimes ask advice and questions.  Perhaps go to YouTube and type in Spanish lawyers or English lawyers in Spain and after watching and listening to their film clip then in the comments section type in your question and see if they have a solution.  Don't forget to press the hands up like.  I cannot guarantee if they will answer you or what answers they will give you you.      

VALG7 wrote on Mon May 23, 2022 12:54pm:

Thankyou for your advice Kim 

FCFradet wrote on Tue May 24, 2022 4:25pm:

Gonzalo Blanco in Denia. Pukka chap. But absolutely you have to go to the Registro de Propiedad in the village where the house is and ask for all the details on that house. It costs less than a fiver. You will have all the information on it. Do that as a matter of course. You also have to make su...

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...re there are no outstanding debts on the IBI (local council tax) of the house in question. I'd bypass estate agents as they are gunning for the sellers, basically. Buy from the owner, but via a reputable property lawyer.

The info you get from the registro de propiedad will show you the declared m2. Don't say you have this info to the owner. Then ask to visit the house. You can see more or less the m2 yourself. Then compare the two. Lots of people fail to declare an obra nueva so the m2 don't tally. If it's less than 20m and within the footprint of the house, notarios let it go. If it's outside the footprint of the house or tons of m2 extra, it has to be declared and paid for. Either by you or the seller. First find out all the info and you have a bargaining tool (the cost of declaring the extra m2 and making it legal). Be pedandic and avoid the temptation of trusting a soul. Do all the due diligence yourself and if you can read up on Spanish property law even better. It's a rubbish experience but better safe than sorry.

FCFradet wrote on Tue May 24, 2022 4:25pm:

Gonzalo Blanco in Denia. Pukka chap. But absolutely you have to go to the Registro de Propiedad in the village where the house is and ask for all the details on that house. It costs less than a fiver. You will have all the information on it. Do that as a matter of course. You also have to make su...

Read more...

...re there are no outstanding debts on the IBI (local council tax) of the house in question. I'd bypass estate agents as they are gunning for the sellers, basically. Buy from the owner, but via a reputable property lawyer.

The info you get from the registro de propiedad will show you the declared m2. Don't say you have this info to the owner. Then ask to visit the house. You can see more or less the m2 yourself. Then compare the two. Lots of people fail to declare an obra nueva so the m2 don't tally. If it's less than 20m and within the footprint of the house, notarios let it go. If it's outside the footprint of the house or tons of m2 extra, it has to be declared and paid for. Either by you or the seller. First find out all the info and you have a bargaining tool (the cost of declaring the extra m2 and making it legal). Be pedandic and avoid the temptation of trusting a soul. Do all the due diligence yourself and if you can read up on Spanish property law even better. It's a rubbish experience but better safe than sorry.

Kim007 wrote on Tue May 24, 2022 4:59pm:

Even armed with all this information navigating ones way through all of this endless red tape takes siesta Spanish tomorrow time and persons can end up losing their chosen Spanish home throughout the complete process.  Trusting estate agents is often problematic; many are corrupt and don't c...

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...ommunicate in any language, even with Google Spanish translation. 
Make sure you use a select a legitimate experienced lawyer, and insist on making arrangements to first visit your selected Spanish property.  Truly hope that the Spanish Ministry of Justice soon does something about this.  Many folks are lead to believe everything is in apple pie order, and sadly it often isn't and this mess only gets discovered by the next of kin, inheritors or new property owners.   
 A friend recently made confirmed arrangements (first by telephone and then with emails)  through the estate agent to visit a property with a Spanish estate agent and immediately jumped in his car and drove directly to the estate agent;  everything was guaranteed and promised etc. He arrived on the estate agents doorstep to visit his selected property only to be told that the property was sold.  The estate agents were NOT respectful and did NOT give a financial contribution to all the costs etc.  DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY TRUST ESTATE AGENTS. 
If you buy direct from an owner, ALWAYS use a separate lawyer, and NEVER one that an estate agent suggests.         

Perla wrote on Tue May 24, 2022 7:33pm:

I guess it's absolutely for the best tot be safe rather than sorry...

I have one follow-up question: how can one find out if there are any outstanding debts on the IBI (local council tax) of the house in question? Is it as simple as asking at the ayuntamiento?

Martha Reilly wrote on Wed May 25, 2022 2:47pm:

Hi. We used  [email protected] . They went through everything background checks to see if there was any outstanding bills. I'd highly recommend them. Their just up from the fountain in the centre of Torrevieja Good luck with your new home.